Zombie attack helps emergency workers train

DELAWARE, Ohio - More than 200 zombies gathered in Delaware this afternoon for a little Halloween fun and to help first responders in their biggest practice drill ever.

Allison Manning, The Columbus Dispatch

DELAWARE, Ohio — More than 200 zombies gathered in Delaware this afternoon for a little Halloween fun and to help first responders in their biggest practice drill ever.

Emergency officials from across the county arrived at Ohio Wesleyan University’s Selby Stadium and dealt with a pretend toxic chemical spill coming from a semi truck. They had to decontaminate the hundreds of living dead, and then distribute medication in the form of Skittles and M&Ms to the volunteers.

Wendy Jones, who lives in Upper Arlington, brought her three sons and daughter to the drill. The entire zombie family, from 4-year-old Jackson to 15-year-old Trey, took advantage of a day off from school.

“It’s a way to combine Halloween and help and have fun,” she said.

Most of the volunteers took their task seriously, staggering and moaning around the stadium for nearly an hour as they waited for the decontaminating to begin.

Anita and Adam Clay, of the Far West Side, celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary at the drill with a day off from work and dual zombie getups. Anita Clay, dressed in a robe and curlers, said this was the perfect anniversary present for her husband, who’s a hard one to buy for.

“I think it’s a blast,” Adam Clay said. Their three children were jealous they couldn’t tag along.

While it was fun for the zombies — who sported gouged out eyes, peeling skin and exposed bone — the event was work for the dozens of emergency forces who responded to the scene. Safety workers donned hazmat suits, police shut down roads and several zombies were brought to Grady Memorial Hospital to be decontaminated.

Two firefighters were accidentally turned into zombies themselves, to simulate the kind of contamination that could happen in a real toxic spill.

The State Emergency Response Commission evaluated the performance of the first responders, from hospital nurses to the health department to hazmat teams.

After the two-hour exercise, a quick debriefing was held, and another more thorough meeting will be held in about a week to determine where the county needs to improve.

“A drill like this isn’t designed to see what you can do, it’s designed to see what you can’t do,” said Michael Schuiling, assistant chief of the county EMS.